Chapter 20

The Ushnu, the Centre of the Inca World:

An Overview from the Highlands of Piura,
Northern Peru
Csar Astuhuamn

Introduction
During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the Inca
Empire expanded to incorporate many ethnic groups over
a vast area of the Andes and coastal South America. This
large territory was frequently managed through a series of
planned centres where buildings used for Inca state administrative and ceremonial functions were imposed on the
local settlement hierarchy.
The Inca structures called ushnu were located on the
main square of provincial centres distributed along the
Inca road system. The variability of shapes and functions
of Inca ushnu platforms have been described in detail
by Graziano Gasparini and Luise Margolies (1977), Tom
Zuidema (1989a [1980], 1989c) and John Hyslop (1990:
7072). They can be considered the architectural symbols
of Tahuantinsuyu in the provinces, representing an Inca
throne and seat, and they had enormous political and ritual
importance (Zuidema 1989a [1980]).
This research focuses primarily on the highlands of Piura
(8003900 m above sea level), northern Peru, where four
Inca centres were identified and recorded. This region,
located close to the modern frontier between Peru and
Ecuador, is shaped by the Chira-Catamayo, Alto Piura,
Huancabamba and Alto Chinchipe river basins. Aside from
some early pioneering archaeological research (Humboldt
1991 [1802]; Tello 1916), the region has been the focus of
research by Mario Polia (1972, 1973, 1995) Anne-Marie
Hocquenghem (1989b, 1998) and Csar Astuhuamn
(1998, 2008).
The aim of this chapter is to analyse the imperial
infrastructure developed by the Inca to control and
administer the highlands of Piura, in particular as manifest
in the ushnu platform. Through an analysis of the state

infrastructure, its positioning within the landscape and

its relationship to local sites, I intend to assess how the
Inca institutions secured and administered the area and
the degree to which the Inca planned sites reflected their
provincial organisation.

Imperial strategies, ideology and

sacred landscapes
Prior to contextualising the ushnu platform within the Inca
Empire it is important to consider how the management of
the landscape was understood and organised in the context
of imperial strategies and ideology. Discrete societies have
different historical, cultural and geographical backgrounds
and they have developed distinct concepts and practices
to define space (cf. Hodder and Orton 1976; Gil 2001:
6064; Conolly and Lake 2006: 310). Western, primarily
European, thought has two major approaches to space:
seeing it first as a container of all material objects (an absolute concept) and secondly as a relation between things
(a relative concept). In both cases, space is a cultural and
historical construction related to referents (Conolly and
Lake 2006: 34).1
R. Tom Zuidema has stressed the need to research
prehispanic Andean concepts of space and time, and
highlighted how these concepts had a strong relationship
with the Inca state as expressed in their systematic cosmological knowledge (Zuidema 1989b: 534). In the Andes,
the concept of pacha integrated space and time, and the
spatial concepts of hanan (higher moiety) and hurin
(lower moiety) have been considered the essence of the

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Figure 20.1 Location of Aypate, Caxas, Huancabamba and Mitupampa

within the highlands of Piura.

dual organisation that has characterised diverse aspects of

Central Andean societies (cf. Zuidema 1968; Murra 1975;
Harris 1985; Prssinen 2003 [1992]). Other organisational
principles have also been recorded for Andean societies.
Zuidema suggested that the ceque system in Cusco was
organised in a socio-political hierarchy of triads: Collana
(higher), Payan (middle) and Cayao (lower) (Zuidema 1995
[1964]). Collana is considered the most prestigious group
within a regional hierarchy or inside a community; this
division has also been related to Cusco itself and Inca
buildings (Urton 1984; Niles 1987; Morris 1999). Another
organisational form deployed by the Incas that has been
noted is the decimal system. This was expressed in administrative population units of 10, 100, 1000 and 10,000
households or male tributarios (heads of households), who
gave tribute by granting their labour to the state (e.g. army
service) (Julien 1983; DAltroy 1992, 2002; Morris and
Covey 2006: 147).

These principles are not mutually exclusive and have

been documented in different regions such as Cusco
(Zuidema 1995 [1964]) and Collaguas (Wernke 2006:
179, 206). Based on 11 analysed cases, Marti Prssinen
(2003 [1992]) argued that dual (higher and lower moieties), tripartite (higher, middle and lower) and quadripartite
principles were used in the internal organisation of Inca
provinces, in some cases simultaneously.
The process of defining territory is related to the expression of power and the political appropriation of space
(Gil 2001: 63, 75; 2002: 21011), but also to concepts
of ownership. In general, empires try to control resources
and/or the human labour force within a territory, and to
rule it (Schreiber 1992: 11). In contrast to concepts of
territorial control, in sensu stricto, jurisdiction relates to
human groups under ruling authorities (Harris 1997 cited
in Gil 2002: 21011), a concept that is probably more
closely related to the Inca concept of province than that of
territoriality; the important difference being the appropriation and control of people rather than space. In the Andes
the key facet seems to have been the primacy of rights
over people rather than land (Harris 1985: 330; see also
Ramrez 2005: 32).
Landscape can be considered a cultural and social
construction; it is a perceived and symbolic space (Gil
2001: 63, 667; 2002: 21012) intertwining notions of
memory, identity, social order and transformation (Ashmore
and Knapp 2000: 918); these are common topics when
studying Andean societies. The nature of sacred landscapes
(e.g. mountains) involves religious and symbolic meaning
expressed in ritual practices around natural features of the
landscape that assumed a sacred character for peoples in
the past (Bradley 2002). In this chapter I will explore the
relationships between indigenous Andean ideologies of
sacred landscapes and Inca imperial rule, and assess the
significance of landscape features that assumed a sacred
character before the Inca conquest and were further
elaborated as a feature of Inca rule. The importance of
the relationship between Inca settlements and particular
features of the landscape such as rocks, geological formations, springs and caves during the time of the Inca Empire
has been recognised in previous studies (e.g. Hyslop 1985,
1990; Gose 1993; Bauer 2000, 2004; Aldunate et al. 2003).
Ancient empires and pre-capitalist societies have considered their landscape to be much more than an economic
resource and, in many societies, unaltered portions of
landscape were and are believed to be sacred. However,
when studying the development of empires, there has been
a significant tendency to emphasise military conquest
and economic exploitation and to relegate ideology and
religion to a secondary position (Willey 1977 cited in Vogt
1983: 1920; Morris 1998: 3046). A minor role is reserved
for religious conquest, such as European expansion justified
by the capture of sacred places and Christianisation during
the medieval Crusades.2
Recent archaeological approaches to landscape (cf.
Alcock and Osborne 1994; Brck and Goodman 1999;
Ashmore and Knapp 2000; Bradley 2002; Smith 2003)
have begun to help us to better understand interactions

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Table 20.1 Inca buildings at the major Inca centres within the highlands of Piura. The numbers refer to the mapped sectors within these sites. Historic
sources have been used for buildings now destroyed under modern Huancabamba: (a): Xerez (1968 [1534]: 212); (b): Cieza de Len (1973 [1553]:
154); (c): Garcilaso de la Vega (1967 [1609]: 847); (d): Tello (1916); (e) Humboldt (1991 [1802]).

Suggested function
Bridge
Storage/portazgo
Storage
Cultic/temple
Cultic monolithic
Ceremonial fountain
Acllawasi
Kallanka
Rectangular plaza
Residential
Residential/ administrative
Ceremonial/administrative
Palace
Another acllawasi
Temple of the Sun
Trapezoidal plaza
Ushnu platform
Access control
Metal workshop
Agricultural terrace
Drying area/tendal
Funerary/chullpas
Unclear

Aypate

Caxas
2
1
12

Mitupampa

10

16
14

3
17
5
6
7
4, 13, 14, 15, 22, 30, 35, 36
9
10
11
16
19
20
21
32
33
27
8, 27, 28, 30, 31, 35

1736

18, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 34, 37

Huancabamba

(b)

5, 6
15
13
8
4

9
3
2
7
11
10, 12

3
9
9
1, 2, 4

5
5
8
7

(b), (c)

(a), (b), (c), (e)

(d)

6, 11

between sacred places and political authority in ancient

empires. For example, adopting a political approach to
landscape, Adam Smith suggested the need to theorise the
profound links between landscape and the construction
and management of political authority,3 and argued that,
territory, urbanism, and architecture are about politics;
authority is profoundly constituted in the ordering of
landscapes (2003: 27980).
In relation to the Inca Empire, ethnohistorical and
archaeological research has given some consideration to
the role of religion, ideology and state institutions during
the period of expansion. Thus ancestor cults and rituals
were associated with the control of water sources, and
these defined the entire political culture from which the
Inca state emerged and by which it was controlled (Gose
1993: 4868). Controlling water sources is undoubtedly
also an economic concern, but Peter Goses emphasis is
on religious ideology in contrast to economic models (e.g.
Murras model). Gose has also argued for the importance
of oracles within Inca political organisation (Gose 1996:
17, 19, 21). Goses ethnohistorical model has not yet been
tested for Inca times using the empirical evidence, but
for the Middle Horizon (AD 6001000) from the spatial
analysis of major topographical features, Mary Glowacki
and Michael Malpass (2003: 443) have argued that the
ideological motivations of the expansion of the Wari Empire
could be linked to its concept of sacred landscape.
Andean peoples developed concepts of sacred landscapes where ancestor cults and rituals were conducted
and controlled by Andean empires. In this chapter, I will
consider the proposition that the socio-political order in

Andean societies may have been partly developed around

sacred landscapes, in particular networks of shrines, where
the Incas imposed their institutional architecture including structures invested with religious significance, such as
ushnus.

The Inca ushnu as the focal point of

provincial centres: ushnu platforms
recorded in the highlands of Piura
From the analysis of institutional buildings at major Inca
centres in Inca provinces it is suggested that sites of similar
size, number of buildings and architectural features may
have had a similar function and level of importance. The
existence of a primary large administrative centre in each
Inca province is a necessary precept for the postulated
spatial and archaeological analysis. John Hyslop (1990)
assumed that provincial or administrative-ceremonial
centres were discrete and recognisable archaeological
units, where specific characteristic Inca buildings were
commonly found such as an acllawasi (the House of
the Chosen Women, a form of order of women in state
service), a Temple of the Sun, a plaza (trapezoidal or rectangular) and an ushnu platform. At the present time it is
not possible to demonstrate with any certainty which of
the institutional buildings were more important each
played a specific role at the provincial level despite their
multifunctional character. For instance, the architectural

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Figure 20.2 Ushnu of Aypate: hypothetical reconstruction (image Cristian Campos and Csar Astuhuamn).

Table 20.2 Dimensions of Inca ushnu at Aypate (adapted from Astuhuamn 1998, Cuadro No.78).

Component
Upper terrace
Intermediate terrace
Inferior terrace
Main stairs
Lateral stairs
Drain

Length (m)
23.0524
26.7527.7
44.934.6
13.2
3.5
6.55

Width (m)
19.8519.2
2524.4
31.4531.83
4.3
0.9
2.05

complex plaza-kallanka-ushnu has been highlighted by

several authors as a key element in provincial centres
for the conduct of state ceremonies, banquets and rituals
to reinforce the link between the empire and its subjects
(Hyslop 1990; Farrington 1992; Shimada et al. 2004;
Morris and Covey 2006).
From an archaeological point of view, the four largest
Inca sites identified in the study area (Aypate, Caxas,
Huancabamba and Mitupampa, see Fig. 20.1) are characterised by a wide range of Inca buildings (e.g. ushnu
platform, kallanka, plaza, acllawasi, Temple of the Sun),
which are either absent in other Inca sites or are constructed
in isolation, such as the group of kallankas at Huancacarpa.

Wall thickness (m)

0.650.8

Height (m)
1.21.6
2
1.2

0.85

Number of steps

24

These four sites comprised the centres of Inca authority

because the presence of specific Inca building types constitutes evidence of the architecture of power that featured
in major Inca imperial centres (Gasparini and Margolies
1977). Table 20.1 shows the recurrent presence of several
of these building forms at the major Inca centres in the
study area. I have identified these as follows: acllawasi,
Temple of the Sun, plaza (trapezoidal or rectangular) and
ushnu platform. These four architectural forms appear to
be the key structures to identify and differentiate Inca
provincial centres from other Inca sites. Other diagnostic
buildings recorded in only three Inca centres were kallanka,
residential compounds and another acllawasi. However,

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Table 20.3 Dimensions of structures near the ushnu at Aypate (adapted

from Astuhuamn 1998, Cuadro No.80).

Structure
a
b
c
d

External
length (m)
7.7
7.6
6.4
8.1

External
width (m)
4.1
2.6
5.5
5.7

Wall thickness (m)

0.81.0
0.81.0
0.81.0
0.81.0

the potential identification of other diagnostic architectural

features at Inca centres in further research may assist in
highlighting the importance of other structures such as the
portazgo (storage room), ceremonial fountains, palaces,
agricultural terraces and tendales (drying areas). Thus, while
some buildings were critical to the definition of an Inca
provincial centre (e.g. the ushnu platform), others were less
essential (e.g. the presence of funerary towers [chullpas] in
Mitupampa).

Aypate
Aypate is located in a mountain chain that forms the watershed between the Quiroz and Macar river basins, which
feed into the Chira river. Aypate is a very large site consisting of several sectors (Humboldt 1991 [1802]: 1718, 38;
Matos 19651966: 90, 98; Polia 1972; 1973: 36, 4454;
1995: 8596; Astuhuamn 1998, 2005, 2008).
My analysis of the infrastructure at Aypate has identified 36 zones each containing institutional buildings (see
Table 20.1). The total site size is around 200 ha. Sector 1
of Aypate, located in the northern part of the site close to
the Inca road, is composed of two rows of 20 rectangular
rooms (c.135 m long). This zone is where storage and
control activities were conducted and is likely to have
been the main portazgo of the site. Sector 7 of Aypate is
a large open space (plaza) of trapezoidal shape (c.130
85 165 230 m) around which the main buildings
are located. Sector 8 is a large (115 m long) rectangular
building without any visible internal subdivisions facing the
main plaza; this is likely to have been a kallanka. Sector
11 of Aypate has a stepped platform (c.5 m high) facing
the main square that appears to be an Inca ushnu platform
used for ceremonies and typically located in a prominent
location at major Inca centres. Sector 13 accommodates
four kancha compounds located on stepped terraces and
facing the trapezoidal plaza. It comprised a residential
zone, a sector reserved for craft activity and a cult sector
used by the acllas.
The ushnu platform of Aypate (Sector 11) is located
towards the east side of the main square. It comprises a
three-tiered rectangular platform with a central stone
stairway leading from the plaza level to the top with a
small lateral stairway joined to it (see Table 20.2). A low
wall surrounds the upper terrace and a drain flanked by
carved rocks was recorded there (see Fig. 20.2). Our current

excavations (2013) registered walls below the surface of

this terrace. During previous research, Polia (1995: 94)
noted several spherical rocks, a dog or fox skull and other
present-day offerings inside the drain.
Between the ushnu platform and the acllawasi, four
small structures (see Table 20.3) were recorded near the
ushnu and a passage was located along the back of the
large wall situated on the edge of the plaza. The function
of this passage was to link the ushnu platform and the
acllawasi; the other structures were related to the activities
carried out at the ushnu.

Caxas
The surviving buildings of Caxas are located on both banks
of the Rey Inca river that joins the Hualtaco ravine near the
centre of Caxas (Montfar 1889 [1802]: 15; Tello 1916;
Xerez 1968 [1534]: 21012; Mena 1968 [1534]: 1378;
Trujillo 1968 [1571]: 20; Cieza de Len 1973 [1553]: 154;
Polia 1973; Hocquenghem 1989b: 25; 1994; Humboldt
1991 [1802]: 2021; Astuhuamn 1998, 2005, 2008;
Astuhuamn et al. 2003). The site covers an area of 240
ha and 37 zones were recorded including institutional
buildings and spaces without architecture. Ethnohistorical
accounts concerning Caxas describe the presence of specifically selected and organised groups of people such
as acllas (chosen women of the state religion), mitimaes
(workers providing labour service to the state), soldiers and
a governor, each occupying defined institutional buildings
such as the acllawasi or portazgos.
Sector 1 consists of a structure with two rows of seven
rectangular rooms (c.120 m long). It is probable that storage
and administrative activities were conducted here and that
this was the area referred as portazgo by the Spanish soldiers
(Xerez 1968 [1534]: 212). Sector 5 is shaped to accommodate six Inca kancha compounds and a rectangular storage
unit; it was a residential, craft activity and cult sector used by
the acllas and well documented in ethnohistorical sources.
Sector 6 of Caxas is composed of three large rectangular
enclosures, each approximately 100m in length, without
internal subdivisions. These buildings, the largest recorded
in Tahuantinsuyu in archaeological research, have been
identified as kallankas (cf. Kendall 1985; Hyslop 1990).
Sector 12 boasts the largest rectangular building (c.124.5
24.5 m) with 42 adjacent structures distributed along three
rows. Sector 20 of Caxas comprises a trapezoidal plaza
(c.120 90 70 70 m) situated between the right bank
of the Rey Inca river and the ushnu and associated buildings in the square. Sector 21 was an Inca ushnu platform
(c.3m high). The long and narrow terraces located close
to storage facilities could have been used to dry the crops
prior to storage.
The Inca ushnu platform is located on one side of a
square facing the Temple of the Sun and near the right
bank of the Rey Inca river (Humboldt 1991 [1802]: 223;
Raimondi 1901 [1868]: 300; Legua y Martinez 1986

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Figure 20.3 Caxas: hypothetical reconstruction (image Cristian Campos and Csar Astuhuamn).

with a low surrounding wall, recorded by Julio C. Tello

in 1916 but no longer extant (see Plate 20.2). The close
proximity of this ushnu platform to the river is similar to
that of the ushnu recorded in the central plaza of Cusco
(Farrington, this volume), and it allows liquids to be
poured into the rectangular drain within it that flows out
into the river.

Huancabamba Inca
Plate 20.1 Profile of the Inca ushnu platform at Caxas by Tello (1916),
1916 Harvard Peruvian Expedition (Archivo Julio C. Tello, Universidad
Nacional Mayor de San Marcos).

[1914]: 1012; Tello 1916; Ramrez 1966: 278; Polia

1973: 69). It consists of two stepped platforms with unequal
heights at front and back (see Plate 20.1 and Fig. 20.3).
A stone stairway leads from the level of the plaza
towards the upper part of the second platform (see Table
20.4). On this platform was a drain of rectangular layout

Some remains of the Inca site of Huancabamba can be found

under the capital city of the province of Huancabamba,
which is located on both banks of the Huancabamba river.
Following references to Huancabamba in early colonial
Spanish sources, the first more modern mention was provided by Alexander von Humboldt who, in 1802, described
the Inca stone walls of the church of Huancabamba
(Humboldt 1991 [1802]: 2024). In Julio Tellos 1916
unpublished field notes, the author described a stepped
platform (probably an Inca ushnu platform) in the town
square of Huancabamba and recorded many Inca stone

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Table 20.4 Dimensions of the Inca ushnu at Caxas (adapted from

Astuhuamn 1998, Cuadro No.36).

Component
Upper terrace
Inferior terrace
Stair
Drain

Plate 20.2 Layout of the Inca ushnus drain at Caxas by Tello (1916), 1916
Harvard Peruvian Expedition (Archivo Julio C. Tello, Universidad Nacional
Mayor de San Marcos).

blocks in the streets. Discussion on the location of ancient

Inca Huancabamba and a 1789 reference to a Palacio
de los Gentiles used as a quarry to build Huancabambas
church are provided by Miguel Ramrez (1966: 27),
however he was uncertain about its location. Anne-Marie
Hocquenghem (1994: 55 fig. 19, 62) recorded some
stepped terraces retained by Inca-style stone blocks around
the modern market of Huancabamba that were desmanteladas, quizs para construir la Huancabamba colonial
(dismantled, perhaps to build colonial Huancabamba)
(Hocquenghem 1989b: 27).

Mitupampa
Mitupampa is surrounded by a rocky outcrop to the south,
a cliff face and a group of hills named Negro and Saquir.
It is near a crossroads and an Inca road passes through it.
The first references to this site were provided by Humboldt
(1991 [1802]: 245) and the Instituto Nacional de Cultura
(INC) (1983: 434). From 1989 to 1992, Polia and colleagues conducted archaeological research in Mitupampa,
including surveying, mapping and excavations at the ushnu,
surface collection and pottery analysis (Polia et al. 1993).
Further work was carried out by Ricardo Espinosa (2002),
Csar Astuhuamn, Natalia Guzmn and Jorge Len (2003)
and Csar Astuhuamn (2005, 2008).
My analysis of the infrastructure at Mitupampa has
identified 11 sectors each containing institutional buildings
(see Table 20.1). The total site size is around 60 ha. The
Inca ushnu at Mitupampa is located in the central part
of the site. Two stepped platforms of quadrangular layout
formed an ushnu platform. A central staircase leads from
the rectangular plaza to the top terrace; its central axis is
oriented eastwest (to Cerro Negro) (see Table 20.5). Carved
ashlar stones were used in the corners of both terraces and

Length (m)
13.5
19.0
6.0
3.54.27

Width (m)
9.5
15.016.0
2.5
1.061.2

Height (m)
0.75
1.85

stairs. This Inca ushnu platform is similar to those recorded

at other Inca centres (cf. Hyslop 1990).
Excavations conducted by Polia in 1992 at Mitupampa
(Polia et al. 1993) recorded a rectangular platform sealing
a formation of porous volcanic rock, where two felines
had been carved in the bedrock prior to the construction
of the ushnu (see Plate 20.3). This is the same type of stone
as that used for the two large monoliths located nearby
and other carved stones around this ushnu. Polia recorded
a first carved feline in high relief, which he identified as
Altar A and a second which he called Altar B (Polia et al.
1993: 20) (see Table 20.6 for dimensions). Both altars were
surmounted by the subsequent rectangular platform, the
dimensions of which were as follows: north 7.70 m; south
8.10 m; west 7.52 m; east 7.52 m (Polia et al. 1993: 35).
The earlier platform was covered by the lower tier of a
later ushnu phase of construction. Inca activity was further
confirmed by the presence of pottery sherds of Inca cups
(qero) and jars (arbalo). At least three phases of use were
recorded at the ushnu in Polias excavations (Polia et al.
1993: 13, 1820, 35) (see Fig. 20.4).
Polia proposed a sequential construction of the ushnu
that comprised at least three phases of use and five of construction (ibid.: 1314). According to Polia, the final one was
clearly Inca, while he dated the platform containing the two
carved stones of felines to AD 1200 (Wari expansionista).
However, the material, its context and any analytical
work remain unpublished. The earliest phase of use of the
underlying rock as a shrine was dated to the Formative
(2000200 BC) although justification for this dating is
dubious. A member of Polias team, Dante Casareto, was
doubtful about the dating of the sequence: podra ser
aventurado proponer una cronologa tentativa, debido a
que el Templo de los Jaguares es un patrn arquitectnico
sui generis en la zona (it could be risky to propose a
tentative chronology as the Temple of the Jaguars is a sui
generis architectural pattern in the zone (Polia et al. 1993:
56).
With regard to the final occupation, Polia emphasised
the Inca use of the platform structure, his argument being
based on the Inca-style pottery in the fills of the upper
two platform tiers, their form, construction techniques and

Table 20.5 Dimensions of the Inca ushnu at Mitupampa (adapted from Polia et al. 1993: 1820, 35).

Component
Upper terrace
Lower terrace
Stair

Length (m)
21.6022.30

5.20

Width (m)
14.8715.90

3.183.95

Wall thickness (m)

0.80

Height (m)
1.832.35
1.101.30

Number of steps

13

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Table 20.6 Dimensions of the early altar inside the Inca ushnu at Mitupampa (adapted from Polia et al. 1993: 1820, 35).

Component
Altar A
Altar B

Length (m)
2.102.13
2.532.58

Width (m)
1.842.18
1.17

Wall thickness (m)

0.200.25

Height (m)
0.120.27
0.150.20

Plate 20.3 Two carved felines at the Inca ushnu at Mitupampa (photo Csar Astuhuamn).

abundant presence of pottery of similar date on the surface

(ibid.: 10).
I suggest that the two carved felines constitute the earliest Inca activity at Mitupampa, which was subsequently
sealed by the later modifications represented by the fills
and platform tiers. A stylistic analysis of the carved stones
should assist in defining their cultural affiliation. Carving
felines in stone was not a local tradition in the highlands
of Piura and there are no other documented examples in
the region. Carved felines have been recorded at other Inca
centres such as Samaipata (Meyers 1999, 2007), Hunuco
Pampa (Morris and Thompson 1985; Kendall 1985; Pino
Matos 2004a), Sayhuite (Van de Guchte 1990) and sites
around Cusco (Bauer 1991). The carved felines almost
certainly reflect the first phase of Inca occupation. Further
remodelling ended in its ultimate form of a two-tiered
platform. This implies a long Inca sequence for the site
and a very different interpretation of the evidence.

A chronological overview of the Inca

occupation within the highlands of Piura
It is suggested that Inca provinces were defined and
organised as a result of a gradual process, which can be
better understood if we take a historical overview. It is

probable that the Inca settlements with state buildings

were used as provincial centres and/or as ceremonial
centres during different periods of the historical process
of Inca conquest and provincial consolidation. To accommodate the chronological problems discussed above, at
least two stages of development of the Inca provincial
organisation in the study area identified by excavation
and architectural analysis are proposed. A consideration
of stages within the historical process of the annexation of
the highlands of Piura in the Inca Empire and the gradual
installation of Inca centres and infrastructure may help
to explain the presence of four major Inca centres and
the associated provincial organisation. There is consistent
archaeological evidence for several phases of construction
at a number of the major Inca sites, and, although it is not
possible to provide precise dating or correlation between
the phases at the different sites, the modifications of these
sites require consideration as to the changes in state strategy that prompted them.
Mitupampa, the smallest centre built in the study
area to include a full range of Inca buildings (e.g. ushnu
platform, kallanka, plaza) could have been the first Inca
provincial centre built in the highlands of Piura. This is
suggested because of its geographical position being
the most southern and it is therefore likely to have been
annexed early. Some features of the Inca buildings found
here suggest that Mitupampa predates Caxas and Aypate.
For instance, the longest kallankas at Inca centres (e.g.

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Figure 20.4 Mitupampa: hypothetical reconstruction (image Cristian Campos and Csar Astuhuamn).

Incallacta, Tomebamba) have been attributed to the reign

of Huayna Capac (Kendall 1985: 270, 350; Niles 1999:
2736) suggesting that smaller kallankas may be earlier. In
the central part of the Central Andes, kallankas are usually
between 20 and 70 m in length (e.g. Hunuco Pampa;
Morris and Thompson 1985); the kallanka at Mitupampa
(which is roughly 25 m) fits within this early scheme.
Further evidence for the early Inca presence at Mitupampa
is the construction sequence of the ushnu platform. It is
suggested that the two carved stone felines were an Inca
foundation act followed by subsequent modification finalised in the construction of the stepped ushnu platform.
Representational carvings of felines (pumas or jaguars) and
single-tier ushnu platforms have been associated with Topa
Incas rule (Kendall 1985: 2725). Both the presence of the
felines and the sequential remodelling of the ushnu therefore imply a long Inca sequence at the site. A radiocarbon
sample from Level c of Sector 3 at Mitupampa shows a
wide date range,4 and although this does not confirm a
clear foundation or use date it is not inconsistent with an
earlier dating that proposed c. AD 14931525 for Huayna
Capacs reign (as suggested by Rowe 1945). Mitupampa
would therefore represent the earliest Inca centre built in
the highlands of Piura.
In accessing Mitupampa, the Inca used the Huancabamba
region and supply stations (e.g. Ovejeria) as their earliest

routes, as suggested by Spanish chroniclers (Cabello Balboa

1951 [1586]: 32021; Garcilaso de la Vega 1967 [1609]:
3, 824). In the second stage, the political control and
power of Mitupampa probably extended across much of
the Huancabamba basin, which was controlled via the
Inca road.
A comparative analysis of Inca centres suggests that the
initial Inca control of the study area and early organisation
of provinces during the rule of Topa Inca Yupanqui was a
result of both a military presence and cult strategies across
the Huancabamba region. In this first stage, Mitupampa
was a provincial centre that included a range of Inca buildings (e.g. one platform ushnu, one small kallanka and one
rectangular plaza), with a principally ritual role.
The economic and socio-political reorganisation of
the area featured strongly during the reign of Huayna
Capac, who transformed the region into a base from
which to conduct military campaigns against the
Bracamoros to the east, the Ecuadorian lowland to the
northwest and the Ecuadorian highland to the north. This
included construction of three new major Inca centres
(Caxas, Huancabamba and Aypate) and remodelling of
Mitupampa. This may suggest the reduction of the importance of the earlier Inca centre of Mitupampa and changes
in its role under new Inca politics and strategies. This might
help to explain why there was no mention of Mitupampa

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in the surviving early Spanish colonial descriptions of

the area. Some structures at the old centre of Mitupampa
were rebuilt (e.g. the ushnu platform) following Huayna
Capacs architectural canons, but the major efforts in the
region were put into the building of the new centres and
the development of the roads to facilitate greater control
over local resources and to create new alliances with local
lords.

The positioning of the Inca ushnu within

the landscape
A common feature of the main Inca centres in the highlands of Piura is that each of them was located close to a
dominant hill or mountaintop. Aypate is situated close to a
hilltop and the site was terraced with some buildings constructed on the terraces, in particular around the summit.
Caxas is located in a valley surrounded by mountains and
Huancabamba is likewise located in a valley between
Pariacaca and Witilingun, two mountains. Mitupampa
faced Cerro Negro (Black Mountain). Inca burials were
found on Pariacaca and Cerro Negro (Tello 1916; Polia et
al. 1993). At Mitupampa, funerary towers (chullpas) were
identified facing the Paraton mountain (Polia et al. 1993;
Astuhuamn 2005). Polia recorded Pre-Inca cemeteries
in Olleros around the Aypate mountain, with some of the
burials facing its summit (Polia 1995: 291).
The early occupation of Mitupampa centred on a
ceremonial compound where offerings to mountain gods
may have been made next to the two carved stone felines
on the ceremonial platform directed to the Cerro Negro
mountain. Mitupampa became the earliest Inca centre built
in the highlands of Piura with characteristically Inca-style
buildings (e.g. small kallanka and the early ushnu platform).
Later, during Huayna Capacs rule, some of the buildings
at Mitupampa were modified (e.g. the two-tiered ushnu
platform). During the various Inca occupation phases at
Mitupampa, the Cerro Negro and Paraton mountains were
the focal points for the ushnu platform.
Why was Cerro Negro important with respect to the
orientation of the Inca ushnu at Mitupampa? Polia identified an earlier Late Intermediate Period (c. AD 10001400)
cemetery on the hilltop and a settlement nearby (Polia et
al. 1993: 57; INC 1983: 434). In 1993 or 1994, according to an El Comercio newspaper report (El Comercio
1992), Polia identified a grave with human remains and
artefacts of a prehispanic shaman on the top of Cerro
Negro, although unfortunately this find remains otherwise
unpublished. The orientation of the Inca ushnu platform at
Mitupampa may thus have been a tribute to an important
local ancestor and an expression of the ancestors cult
by the Inca to co-opt and consolidate local deities and
political alliances.
Religious ideology played a key role in the organisation of Inca provinces with the location of the major
Inca centres in some regions being based principally on

proximity to ancient local shrines (e.g. Cerro Negro at

Mitupampa, Pachacamac, Chinchaycocha, and Canas). It
was an efficient strategy used by the Inca Empire where
local cults were prestigious and had regional dimensions.
On this basis the Inca created a few religious jurisdictions
that overlapped and paralleled minor administrative power centres. This was the case for the religious
jurisdictions of Pachacamac, Isla del Sol, Ayahuaca
and Mitupampa.
In many cases sacred landscapes have been a constant
of the Andean world they were important to local
populations before the Inca, and they continued to attract
followers after the fall of the Inca Empire and the Spanish
extirpation of idolatries. Sacred landscapes were a major
feature of provincial organisation. I suggest that it was
this relationship between people and some features of
their local geography and ancestor cults that gave them
an affiliation and identity with their territory. The Inca
recognised this and sought to integrate sacred sites and
their followers into their religious and social networks of
imperial control order and provincial organisation, which
are strongly related to the ordering of landscapes (Smith
2003: 27980).

Conclusion
Models of Inca provincial organisation as used across the
Andes include synchronic aspects and spatial and diachronic dimensions of Inca authority during the fifteenth
and early sixteenth century. The analysis of power structures, and their respective major centres, suggests that
these did not all share the same level of importance for
the Inca state. They served varying purposes, which is
reflected in their distinctive material characteristics. The
Inca centres in the highlands of Piura have more similarities than differences, in particular their location close
to local cult sites as well as the types of state buildings
present and their functions. There are not sufficient formal
differences between these sites to suggest that they were
individually or uniquely created to accommodate local
circumstances these were centres with standard Inca
architectural canons. However, there is evidence that PreInca local features conditioned the location of the Inca
centres in Piura (e.g. Mitupampa, Aypate). One reason
for this could be that the control of local cults and the
imposition of Inca state religion was the underlying strategy for the ultimate political and economic control of the
indigenous population by the Inca state. In spite of the
fact that different roles are envisaged for these centres, as
expressed in their state buildings, under new Inca politics and expansionist strategies, the ushnu remains as the
centre of these Inca sites mimicking the centre of the Inca
world as expressed on a provincial level.
The public buildings that made up the main Inca
centres have some formal differences (e.g. size, orientation, location and architectural layout), which may reflect

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variations in the local economic and ritual requirements

of the Inca. These in turn may be an expression of different
strategies for the provincial organisation or may reflect
chronological discrepancies. However, these buildings
have similar standard architectural forms, similarities that
can be explained by assuming that some aspects of Inca
control at the provincial level were imposed homogeneously across the Inca Empire and that essential aspects
were preserved. The repetition of many comparable
building forms and spatial arrangements at different sites
facilitated the standardised and repeated performance
of state activities by Inca personnel of all ranks as these
were moved across the empire, from the Maule river to
the Pasto river, from the coast to the Amazon. Following
its ideological and imperial role, the ushnu transmitted
Inca concepts of society and cosmos to local lords and
their subjects.

Acknowledgements
This paper was elaborated and finished with the support of
the personnel of the Proyecto Integral Aypate (20122013),
under the management of the Proyecto Qhapaq an of
the Ministerio de Cultura (Per). I extend many thanks to
all of them.

Notes
1. Other distinctions of space are: Continuous space enables
human movement from a given location in any direction
to another location Discrete space, on the other hand,
constrains movements to certain links or connections (Gorenflo
and Bell 1991: 8081). Dual concepts about sacred and profane
space have also been elaborated (Eliade 1997 [1958]).
2. In this perspective, Mara Rostworowski (1992) analysed the
case of Pachacamac, Bill Sillar (2002: 225, 2367) analysed
the Inca expansion and capture of ancient local shrines
in Raqchi, Cusco region, Brian Bauer and Charles Stanish
(2003) analysed the case of the Isla del Sol, and John Topic,
Theresa Lange Topic and Alfredo Melly Cava (2002) the case
of Catequil. See also Conrad and Demarest (1988, 1992) and
Jennings (2003).
3. The landscape profoundly conditions the very terms in which
we are situated as subjects, governed by institutions and
regimes, and located within polities and geopolitical order
(Smith 2003: 2767).
4. A calibrated Oxford radiocarbon date of a grain of maize (Zea
maiz) collected at Level c (OxA-1631: 364 +/- 26 BP) shows
the following results:
68.2% probability: AD 1450 (46.1%) AD 1530

AD 1590 (22.1%) AD 1620
95.4% probability: AD 1450 (52.6%) AD 1530

AD 1550 (42.8 %) AD 1640

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